Anyone who plots my govt’s downfall will go down, says Wike

By MIKE ODIEGWU, Port Harcourt

Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has said that persons engaged in various clandestine activities against his administration to pull it down will face disappointment.

The governor maintained that part of the recent crises within the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) was spearheaded by people who, in secret meetings, plotted to bring him down.

Wike, who spoke at a special thanksgiving service organised to celebrate the appointment of Hon. Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi as the Chief Judge of Rivers State, at St. Philip’s Anglican Church, Elibrada Parish, in Emohua on Sunday, said no one of such persons had achieved their plots.

He said: “Recently, you heard there were some crises in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Everybody who was involved, that plotted everything for my downfall, all are out.

“Everyone, that slept, that went to a meeting, planning how they’re going to bring me down, not one survived.”

The governor also alluded that similar plot was contrived when the former Chief Judge of the State, Justice Adama Iyayi-Lamikanra was to be appointed, but they also failed.

He wondered why somebody would render services for the interest of Rivers State and when it was time for appointment, people started conspiring and even tried plotting against his government.

He said: “When your predecessor, (Justice Iyayi-Lamikanra) was appointed, you have said here that people came to you to say she’s not from Rivers State. Such people are enemies of the State. That is why this country cannot move forward.

“Somebody who has put his or her life serving the State all through her career, making sure that the State moves forward, and at the time of benefits, you now say the person is not from your State. But all the services rendered was for the interest of your State.

“When your predecessor was appointed, people started to conspire, people started to plot against my government.

“Your colleagues, some of them started conspiring. I said, well, what will be will be. I do know that it is God that made me to become Governor. Nobody will survive to plot the downfall of my government. Nobody will survive it.”

The governor explained that when Justice Iche Ndu retired as the Chief Judge of the State, the judiciary was plunged into crisis, resulting in the shutting down of the court for some years.

According to him, even when the State did not have a substantive chief judge, billions of were signed off steadily in the State judiciary.

He said reports of the committee that was set up by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) indicted some principal judicial staff, some of whom were eventually promised to be shielded by somebody who had hoped to become a chief judge.

He said: “And so the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has to set up a committee to investigate it because there was no Chief Judge, but look at the record, billions are being spent. Who is responsible of this expenditure?

“You can’t believe it, some registrars were using that opportunity to make money. You can’t believe the kind of houses people at that level could will build within that period, and they were found guilty.

“Some one who believes that he or she will be the next Chief Judge had to interfere with that investigation, and security picked it up. And simply because some of them are from the same community and she said, when I become Chief Judge I will set aside that indictment by the Judicial Service Commission, security picked it up. That was how you(Justice Amadi) became the chief judge.” (The Nation)